Not All Stories Are Fairy Tales
by crypticnotions
Summary: Mal volunteers for a difficult task.


Disclaimer: Firefly is not mine. It belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy  
  
Title: Not All Stories Are Fairy Tales  
  
Author: crypticnotions  
  
Rating: G  
  
Summary: Mal volunteers for a difficult task.   
  
A/N: I don't have grammar check on this computer so please bear with me. Also, this is my first fic with Firefly's main characters so any feedback you can give me on if I'm doing this even fairly decent would be appreciated.  
  
*****  
  
"Don't look at me. It ain't my day. I did it a week ago."   
  
"A week ago? Really, Jayne. That was a quite awhile." Zoë glanced at him. "Me'n Wash did it yesterday, so it's not our turn."   
  
"I do believe I did it the day before Wash and Zoë." Book added diplomatically.   
  
They turned toward Simon. "I have to do something in the infirmary. I can't do it."   
  
Kaylee rolled her eyes. She and Simon had had a little disagreement after dinner. "The engine's not gonna take care of itself. I got to see about getting that part on the Capt'n finally let us order."  
  
Everyone's eyes landed on Inara. "Oh, no. You must be kidding me. I have a client in the morning, a sometimes surly client. I need all of tonight to prepare."   
  
"We could ask the Captain to do it," Wash interjected.   
  
They all looked at him like he had just hailed the Alliance.   
  
"What?" he asked.   
  
"Really, dear. Can you see the Captain doing that?"  
  
He mumbled to himself, but looked at Zoë and said sarcastically, "Good point. Good 'ole Cap'll never do it."   
  
Mal wiped his hands on a towel as he entered the room. "Never do what?"   
  
They glanced at each other uneasily. He tossed the towel onto the table.   
  
"Nothing, Sir."   
  
Mal took a look around at the faces and knew Zoë was lying.   
  
"No, tell me what I'll never do."   
  
"It's not that you won't do it, Cap'n. It's just that, well it's not something you'd volunteer for s'all."   
  
"Well, little Kaylee, pray tell me what I won't volunteer for because it seems I've volunteered for a lot in the last couple of years. Some of it bringing nothing but trouble." He said with a slight edge in his voice and he subtly glanced at Simon. "So if volunteerin' is the deal then I don't think we have much of a problem."  
  
"Sir..." Zoë began.   
  
He held up his hand, silencing her. "No, Zoë. Whatever needs volunteerin' for, I'm volunteerin' now."   
  
Zoë took a quick peek at Wash. Everyone else found a person to glance at.   
  
"So, now what is it?" he said ignoring the obvious amazed stares of his crew. He was uneasy at seeing their looks. Especially Zoe's. It was no unordinary thing for her to try to talk him out of something, but she rarely gave him the look she was giving him now.   
  
He walked over to Jayne and whispered. "This ain't no death thing is it?"   
  
Jayne looked at him uncomfortably. "Naw, Mal, but you might not've wanted to volunteer."   
  
Mal looked back confused. "Why's that?"   
  
At that moment, River chose to stride into the kitchen and break up the conversation.   
  
"So who's reading me a bedtime story?"   
  
They all looked at Mal. He quickly caught their drift and grimaced. They'd been right. He certainly didn't want to do this. It wasn't that the girl was unpleasant, it was just that she corrected every damn story that anyone tried to tell her. Even Simon, her own flesh in blood who'd risked everything for her, couldn't get through Hansel and Gretel or Sleeping Beauty without River pointing out the badly told clichés and scientific contradictions.   
  
"Now that I think about it, I've got captain-y things to do."   
  
Inara shook her head. "Uh un, Mal, you already volunteered."   
  
Mal winced and took the book River held out to him.   
  
"I'm going to get ready for bed. I'll be waiting for my story in fifteen minutes." She looked at him. "And don't be late."  
  
Mal groaned as the crew watched River glide back towards her bunk.   
  
"Cheer up, Son. Maybe you and River can use this time to connect." Book patted him on the shoulder and headed for his bunk as well.   
  
The rest of the crew held their smiles.   
  
He looked at Zoë hoping she would help him out.   
  
"Good luck, Sir." She gave his shoulder a squeeze and breezed past him. Wash was immediately behind her.   
  
"Whatever you do don't tell her the one about Cinderella. She said the probability of finding only one woman with that size shoe in even a small radius was about one in a zillion," Wash whispered. He continued after his wife.   
  
Mal turned towards Jayne baffled.   
  
"Well, don't look at me. I got stuff to do."   
  
"Like what?" Mal asked.   
  
"Don't know. Stuff." He pushed past Mal and mumbled in a barely audible voice, "Anything to keep away from that gorram crazy girl."   
  
"Simon?" Mal questioned. After all, it was his sister.   
  
"I have things to set up in the infirmary," he said fidgeting. He hurried off before Mal could say anything else.   
  
"Kaylee?"   
  
"Cap'n, it's not that bad. Just go real fast. Sometimes, she don' catch it all when you read it real fast," she said and practically skipped to the engine room.   
  
Mal wondered how she could be so happy sometimes. 'She's probably extra happy since she got out of this', he thought.   
  
Inara spoke before he could single her out. "Book, is right you know. It will be good for you to get close to River. The rest of us have and it's been refreshing."   
  
"Right, that's why you were arguing over who had the misfortune of reading her the story." He thought for a moment. "Do you people do this every night?"   
  
"Not every night," she said facing him. "Sometimes we draw names out of a hat." She paused, "But mostly we argue over it like tonight."   
  
Mal grunted slightly. Even Book had rushed away glad for the chance to be free from the duty, if only for a night.   
  
"It can't be that bad," he said thinking aloud.   
  
Inara gave him a look that made him think otherwise. She left him there to sift out his feelings.   
  
*****  
  
A/N: I hope I didn't make River seem too childish. I don't know why I broke this up like I did, but I did. I will conclude this when I get the time. 


End file.
